Geneva Motor Show 2012: Pininfarina Cambinao Is Luxury Green

In the world of Italian car designers, Pininfarina sits pretty much at the top. It has partnered before with the likes of Ferrari and Rolls-Royce on exotic car designs, as well as cooking up the idea for Bolloré’s BlueCar, which is being used in an ambitious electric car sharing service in Paris. Now, at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show, the firm has unveiled Cambiano [PDF], a luxury extended range plug-in electric sports car study that is jaw dropping in design and technology.

Pininfarina says [PDF] the Cambinao “raises the bar of research in the field of environment friendliness and sustainability.” This is a simple understatement as you look at what this vehicle has to offer (though, if it were an actual production market, it likely would not be an inexpensive purchase).

image via Pininfarina

To start with the drive system is based upon four electric motors, one for each wheel, which each deliver a supply of 60 kW, with peaks of 150 kW, for a total of 600 kW maximum power output and a torque of 640 Nm. The lithium ion battery in this car is installed between the seats and the rear axle, has a capacity of 50 kW/h, a peak power delivery of 500 kW, and can be recharged in 6 hours using a 6 Kw/h grid and in 52 minutes with the vehicle’s auxiliary power unit (APU).

The APU is a 50 kW Bladon Jets micro turbine the designer says which normally runs on diesel, but which can also be made to work with other types of fuel and can also be used to supply energy directly to the motors.

image via Pininfarina

What does all this car talk mean in terms of performance? Pininfarinia said this car has a range of 205 km (127 miles) in all-electric mode, and a total range in the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) mixed cycle of over 800 km (497 miles) in extended range mode. Acceleration is a sick 0 to 60 in around four seconds, with a top seed of 155 miles per hour.

I am the editor-in-chief and founder for EarthTechling. This site is my desire to bring the world of green technology to consumers in a timely and informative matter. Prior to this my previous ventures have included a strong freelance writing career and time spent at Silicon Valley start ups.